The present invention relates generally to the field of portable refreshment stands. More particularly, the invention relates to a snack, drink and snow cone dispensing portable cart including an ice shaving apparatus.
Children enjoy treats including candy, chips, liquid refreshments and snow cones. Children also enjoy imitating various activities encountered in everyday life, including entertaining, making refreshments, and providing refreshments to others, such as through the archetypical lemonade stand. Refreshment stands, such as the archetypical lemonade stand, allow children to role play, and participate in entertaining and assisting others. Additionally, a refreshment stand can be a useful tool for teaching and introducing the entrepreneurial business world to children.
Refreshment stands adapted for dispensing snacks, drinks or snow cones, are known. Refreshment stands typically fall within one of two groups. The first group includes the homemade, make-shift lemonade stand typically having a table or a structure resembling a stand. The table or structure typically only functions to provide to provide a support surface for separate items used in association with the stand. These separate items can include coolers, pitchers, cash boxes, ice, snacks, drinks, etc. The separate items are typically transported separately from and placed on or near the homemade stand. The second group includes portable, professional refreshment stands typically operated by adults. These stands are typically large, metallic structures having multiple storage containers and electrically operated components.
Ice mills typically used in association with refreshment stands are large complex devices having ice chipping blade assemblies which are typically configured for operation solely by adults. Ice mills typically include an electric motor adapted to drive the chipping assembly or a large manually operated crank mechanism connected to the chipping assembly which requires the strength of a typical adult to operate.
Existing refreshment stands, however, have a number of drawbacks. The typical xe2x80x9chomemadexe2x80x9d refreshment stand requires assembly, and transporting, and placement of additional separate items, such as snacks, etc. The often haphazard placement and use of the additional separate items is typically inefficient, space consuming and susceptible to knocking, spilling and breaking. Further, the typical xe2x80x9chomemadexe2x80x9d refreshment stand is not configured to conveniently accommodate, store and dispense snacks, drinks and snow cones. The professional type refreshment stand, although multi-functional and capable of accommodating and dispensing snacks, drinks and snow cones, is typically large, heavy and expensive. The professional type refreshment stands are typically too hazardous to be used by children. Additionally, the professional type refreshment stand can require an expensive internal or external power source.
Refreshment stands typically do not include ice mills. Those refreshment stands that do include ice mills, typically include expensive, complex, electrically operated ice mills. The ice mills are typically unsafe and not configured for operation by children.
Adult-operated refreshment stands, as seen in baseball parks, county fairs and the like, often have the capability to vend frozen items such as snow cones. These refreshment stands typically have refrigeration or freezer units to maintain the refreshments in a frozen condition, and will have electrical power cords or mobile generators to run the coolant compressors. These adult features cannot be cheaply or safely reproduced in a child""s role-playing toy. But it nevertheless would be highly desirable to provide a child""s refreshment stand capable of vending a frozen or icy beverage.
Thus, there is a continuing need for a refreshment stand capable of dispensing snacks, drinks and snow cones that is portable and safe for the use by children. It would be advantageous to provide a lightweight, durable, and easy to operate refreshment stand for children""s entertainment and enjoyment. What is needed is an ice mill for a refreshment stand that can be safely and easily operated by children, without requiring electric power. It would be advantageous to provide an ice mill for a refreshment stand that is configured to prevent children from accessing the ice chipping blades of the ice mill. It further would be advantageous to provide a method for easily producing a non-rotatable block of ice specifically suited for use in the ice mill.
According to a principal aspect of the invention, an apparatus for producing shavings of a solid volume of frozen beverage includes a hollow body, a blade assembly, and a drive mechanism. The hollow body defines a cavity having an axis and a substantially constant non-circular cross-section perpendicular to the axis. The body has a first end and a second end. The non-circular cross-section is configured to engage the solid volume of frozen beverage and to prevent rotational movement of the solid volume of frozen beverage about the axis while allowing for axial movement of the solid volume of frozen beverage along the axis. The blade assembly is rotatably mounted in the cavity near the second end of the body. The drive mechanism is operably coupled to the blade assembly.
According to another aspect of the invention, an ice mill for shaving a non-rotatable solid volume of frozen beverage or other frozen beverage includes a generally tubular body, a generally circular bottom plate, at least one blade, a drive mechanism, and a cover. The generally tubular body has an upper end and a lower end. The generally circular bottom plate is rotatably coupled to the lower end of the body. The bottom plate has at least one opening. The blade is connected to and generally upwardly extends from the bottom plate. The blade is positioned adjacent to the opening. The drive mechanism is coupled to the bottom plate. The cover is removably connected to the upper end. The cover includes an inwardly and downwardly extending biasing member configured to exert continuous pressure on the solid volume of frozen beverage.
According to another aspect of the invention, an ice shaving apparatus for shaving a non-rotatable solid volume of frozen beverage or other frozen beverage includes a hollow body, a generally circular bottom plate, at least one blade, a first gear, a second gear, and a drive mechanism. The hollow body has an upper end and a lower end, and inner and outer walls. The generally circular bottom plate is coupled to the lower end of the body. The bottom plate having at least one opening. The blade is connected to and generally upwardly extends from the bottom plate. The blade is positioned adjacent to the opening. The first gear is connected to an edge of the bottom plate. The second gear is disposed between the inner and outer walls and engaged with the first gear. The drive mechanism is coupled to the second gear.
According to another aspect of the invention, an ice shaving system for shaving a solid volume of frozen beverage includes an ice mill, a blade assembly, and a means for biasing the solid volume of frozen beverage against the blade assembly. The ice mill includes a body having a first end and a second end. The body defines a cavity having a substantially constant, non-circular cross-section extending between the first and second ends of the body. The blade assembly is rotatably mounted in the cavity near the second end of the body.
According to another aspect of the invention, a refreshment stand for dispensing snacks, drinks and snow cones using a solid volume of frozen beverage produced in a conventional home freezer includes a cart, an ice shaving apparatus, means for removably connecting the apparatus to the cart, and at least one mold. The ice shaving apparatus has an axis and an ice chamber. The ice chamber further includes a substantially constant non-circular cross-section perpendicular to the axis. The mold is adapted for forming the solid volume of frozen beverage having a non-circular cross-section that substantially corresponds to the cross-section of the chamber of the apparatus. The solid volume of frozen beverage, when placed within the ice chamber, mutually interferes with the apparatus to prevent rotation of the solid volume about the axis.
The present invention also provides a method of forming a non-rotatable solid volume of frozen beverage for use in an ice shaving apparatus defining a cavity having a substantially constant, non-circular cross-section. The method includes placing a beverage into a mold having a substantially constant, non-circular cross-section which substantially corresponds to the non-circular cross-section of the cavity. The method further provides transferring the mold and the beverage into a freezing unit, removing the mold and the beverage from the freezing unit when the beverage has solidified, removing the solid volume of frozen beverage having a non-circular cross-section from the mold, and slidably inserting the solid volume of frozen beverage into the ice shaving apparatus by aligning the non-circular cross-section of the solid volume of frozen beverage with non-circular cross-section of the cavity.
The present invention also provides a method of enclosing an ice chamber of an ice shaving apparatus with a xe2x80x9cchild-resistantxe2x80x9d cover. The method includes positioning the cover over the chamber at an end of a body of the ice shaving apparatus, aligning at least one projection extending from one of the end of the body and the cover with at least one channel having a receiving section and an engaging section defined into the other of the end and the cover, inserting the at least one projection into the receiving section of the at least one channel against a biasing force predetermined to be too large to be overcome by a child, and rotating the cover relative to the body to position the at least one projection within the engaging section of the at least one channel. In this way, a parent or other child supervisor can use a conventional freezer to create a frozen block of beverage, install the block of beverage into the ice mill, close the ice mill with a substantially child-resistant cover, and permit the child to use the ice mill on a toy concession cart. The ability to vend a frozen substance from the concession cart greatly enhances play.